The English program in Korea, better known as EPIK, brings in native-English speaking teachers to teach in South Korea to support their mission of increasing English fluency within the country. After applying and getting accepted into the EPIK program, teachers take part in a 9 day orientation period in Korea prior to going to their assigned locations and schools to begin teaching.

In this video, I show you my experience with the EPIK orientation, held in February 2018. I must say that I was very impressed at the professionalism and organization of the orientation. Bringing in teachers from different parts of the world with varying customs, personalities, and world-views and unifying them with a common purpose is no small feat. But I believe that EPIK successfully pulled it off.

Orientation was not only a time of learning the ins and outs of the classroom setting in Korean public schools, but it was also an introduction through immersion into the beautiful culture of Korea. EPIK introduced many different aspects of Korean culture to their teachers, from traditional Korean customs, like the Korean New Year bowing ceremony to us actively partaking in a full-blown TaeKwonDo class. We also had the opportunity to try Korean cuisine, wear traditional Korean clothing known as the Hanbok, and roam the streets of Gonju’s Hanok village.
After the closing ceremony, we were able to let our hair down for a bit and enjoy our last night with our newly made friends and have some fun at the Noraebang!

The 9-day orientation ended with all of the new EPIK teachers departing towards our assigned locations and meeting our co-teachers for the first time. I hope that you enjoy a glimpse into my week at EPIK’s orientation.